Enemy mine

LANDMINES: Thailand is home to almost one million deadly landmines, and a recent Bike Rally of handicapped persons and their friends pedalled its way to Surin to raise awareness of the problem and provide much-needed support for landmine victims

Story By CHOMPOO TRAKULLERTSATHIEN
Picture by SOMKID CHAIJITVANIT and CHOMPOO TRAKULLERTSATHIEN

Landmine victims, along with activists, pedal from Sa Kaew to Surin province to campaign for the banning of landmines. Along the way, the cyclists provided villagers living along Thailand's borders with information about landmines and the dangers they pose.

Vichien Wongsechumpa remembers vividly the tragic afternoon that changed his life forever. He was walking with three friends near the jungle next to the Thai-Cambodian border in Aranyaprathet when he heard a blast and saw a cloud of smoke.

Realising that one of them must have stepped on a landmine, Mr Vichien dashed in a bid to save his friends. But he had misjudged the situation.

His heart sank as he helplessly fell to the ground, realising it was he, not the others, who had just become the next landmine victim.

"I was overwhelmed with fear and quite shocked. When I came to myself, I looked over my body and found that my right leg's lower part was severely mashed and my foot was gone," recalled Mr Vichien, now 42.

Although the accident took place some 20 years ago, the event is still vivid in his memory and has left deep scars on his body.

"I lost my leg," he said softly.

"It was my permanent, great loss. The disaster kept me in distress for several years before I became stronger."

He added that he had tried to commit suicide several times but was saved by his friends who shared the same plight-Mr Vichien is not the only one who has suffered such a catastrophe.

For decades, innocent villagers along Thailand's borders with Cambodia, Laos, and Burma have been falling victim to landmines. Through the many years that have followed skirmishes along these borders, the sound of an exploding landmine has become all too common.

"We have become familiar with living in a crisis-ridden village. And though afraid, we don't know where to move. We have no choice in life. When setting out from home, we don't know what lies ahead. And we might not return home," Mr Vichien said.

"When we hear an explosion we know immediately that the number of the handicapped in our village will increase," he added.

According to the Thailand Mine Action Centre (TMAC), villagers living along the borders have long been suffering from landmines, some of them losing their lives, others becoming handicapped, losing arms, legs, or eyes. The Centre estimates that the number of landmines buried in Thailand is close to one million, covering a total area of five million rai in 48 districts across 18 provinces. And some 5,000 villagers have been injured or killed by the fatal weapon.

Other countries around the globe are also home to landmines and some of their citizens share the same plight. According to the Justice and Peace Commission of Thailand, every 22 minutes someone somewhere around the world is killed or maimed by a landmine. And there are 120 million landmines buried around the globe in 70 countries.

Some types of the underground weapon have a lifespan of over a hundred years. Others can periodically move due to flooding or torrential rains.

"Annually, some 26,000 people around the world fall victims to landmines. Most importantly and sadly, 40 percent of them are children," said Nittaya Kritsananondha from the Justice and Peace Commission of Thailand.

In August of last year, Mr Vichien recruited 166 handicapped persons from Sa Kaew province to set up the Handicapped From Landmines Network to provide victims with psychological and financial support.

In an effort to make Thais aware of the deadliness and power of landmines, as well as to boost the morale of landmine victims, the Thailand Campaign to Ban Landmines (TCBL), which includes three NGOs (Catholic Office for Emergency Relief and Refugees, Jesuit Refugee Service Asia Pacific, and Justice and Peace Commission of Thailand), in cooperation with the Thailand Cycling Club, staged a "Bike Rally: Journey for Peace" from April 27 to May 1 to call for a ban on landmines.

According to Father Vichai Phokthavi from the Thailand Campaign to Ban Landmines, the cycling project was aimed at commemorating landmine victims and to support the Ottawa Convention, which calls for signatories to stop using landmines, to destroy collected landmines within four years, to remove all buried landmines within a decade, to not internationally transport landmines, and to rescue those who have been maimed by landmines.

Thailand ratified the Ottawa Convention on May 1, 1999.

"We would like to empower the handicapped, to help them stand on their own. And the first step is to boost their morale and return their dignity by treating them like they are normal people," Fr Vichai said.

"We also encourage Thais to be aware of the dreadful landmine and to strictly follow the Ottawa Convention."

Participants in the Bike Rally included 26 handicapped people from the Handicapped From Landmines Network, 13 cyclists from the Thailand Cycling Club, and 13 others.

Wearing artificial legs, the disabled cyclists came from three districts and one sub-district in Sa Kaew province: Aranyaprathet, Klong Hat, Ta Phraya, and Kok Sung, respectively.

The cyclists began their journey at the district's police station on April 27 at 8 am and reached their destination in Surin province on May 1 at 8 am. The distance was about 259 kilometres. Along the way, the cyclists distributed brochures about landmines to villagers to create awareness of the landmine issue and of the Handicapped From Landmines Network and its support services.

The handicapped were assisted by veteran cyclists from the Thailand Cycling Club, whose leader used a variety of whistle signals to guide the rally and point out potential dangers.

"During the Bike Rally, we faced no difficulties. The road was good and convenient for the disabled to balance themselves on. They were really strong, because they had to ride the long distance and brave the sweltering heat," said Suthee Sawangjai, 34, who controlled the team.

	Hundreds of border villagers have lost legs after accidentally stepping on landmines. Thanks to artificial legs provided by Aranyaprathet Hospital, some of the disabled were able to join the Bike Rally campaigning for the banning of landmines.

"We communicated with each other through the whistle. When I spotted holes or shards of glass, I gave a signal by pointing directly at the object. If I wanted to stop the whole rally, I simply raised my hand."

Apart from the beads of sweat, physical pain, and yes, the joy of it, the Bike Rally brought great delight to the handicapped who participated.

"I was very glad to have a chance to join the cycling project. Though I am disabled, I was able to bike long distances. The trip was full of joy and laughter as my friends and I competed with one another to cycle up hills. Eventually, many of us chose to push our bikes instead," said Chumnong Chin-no, who was maimed by a landmine some 10 years ago.

The bike rally also impressed the healthy cyclists.

Kasama Panswad from the Thailand Cycling Club was among those who enjoyed riding with the disabled.

"The disabled are not second-class citizens. They have had to deal with a misfortune, but they still belong to our society. We have to provide them with opportunities. I was delighted to spend my time talking with them and experiencing their inner feelings," Ms Kasama said while resting at Wat Mai Na Ngarm.

Before launching the cycling project, Ms Kasama and her team surveyed the route thoroughly to check the condition of the road and mark the stops where the cyclists could take a rest or a nap.

"We wanted to do something good. We may not have money, but we can spend our time and energy to help out."

Following the rally, "I found that most of the handicapped persons felt stronger and better able to cope with their handicaps," Ms Kasama said.

The tired cyclists rested or spent the night at local temples along the route. The evening meetings included discussions on the situation of landmines in Thailand, and the peril they pose. To entertain the group, Mr Vichien played a small keyboard and sang songs.

"We had a chance to talk with villagers about the great peril of landmines, and how we are all being put in danger. There are landmines all around us. They have become an enemy that can take our lives," said Mr Chumnong.

Mr Chumnong couldn't have been more right. He stepped on a landmine buried only about one kilometre from his house.

"We learnt the sad news that flood waters can carry landmines to other places. Unfortunately, many of them have moved nearer our farming lands and our houses. And we don't know where to find them, that is why the villagers may end up stepping on them," said Mr Chumnong.

After an explosion is heard, villagers rush to the scene to rescue the victim. Fearing that other landmines might be planted nearby, they drag the victim away from the scene with a rope tied around his or her leg.

All the handicapped dream of the same thing: To live in a village free from landmines.

Their dream might come true soon.

The Thailand Mine Action Centre was set up last year with the responsibility of removing all landmines across Thailand.

"We would like to walk around our villages freely and safely," Mr Vichien said.

"And we would like to make the best use of our farming land. If that happens, the land will not be our foe any more. And we border villagers can live in peace."

Fighting the war against landmines

Heamakarn Sricharatchanya

Several non-governmental and governmental organisations are working to rid Thailand of landmines and assist their victims, including:

Thailand Campaign to Ban Landmines (TCBL): Set up in 1997, the main responsibility of the TCBL is to support the Thai government's signing of the Ottawa Convention, which calls for:

- Banning the use of landmines.

- Destroying landmines held in storage within four years.

- Removal of all buried landmines within 10 years.

- Prohibiting the transportation of landmines across countries.

- Helping victims of landmines.

The TCBL is campaigning to raise awareness of the danger of landmines, and encouraging its members to dig up and destroy existing landmines and to help victims who step on them.

Organisations who are members of TCBL include:

- Catholic Office for Emergency Relief and Refugees (COERR): An NGO which has helped 573 villagers, coming from 144 families, who have been disabled from stepping on landmines in Aranyaprathet, Ta Phraya, Klong Hat, and in Kok Sung sub-district.

The organisation receives financial support from the Government Savings Bank's Social Investment Fund. The money is divided into two parts: the first to provide scholarships for children of landmine victims, and the second given as aid to families of victims to help them make ends meet.

Phone number: (037) 231-594 or (01) 306-7302.

- Jesuit Refugee Service Asia Pacific (JRSAP): An NGO which has a coordinator in Seoul, this organisation helps displaced people in the Asia Pacific region including Thailand.

Phone number: 279-1817 or 278-4182.

- Justice and Peace Commission of Thailand: An NGO which emphasises on human rights and peace. The organisation campaigns to have landmines banned.

Phone number: 277-4625, 275-7783.

- Thailand Mine Action Centre (TMAC): Aside from NGOs, the TMAC-established by the government-also plays an important role in the call for the banning of landmines. Founded in 1999 following the ratification of the Ottawa Convention by the Thai government, the TMAC serves as the centre for domestic organisations monitoring the situation of landmines in Thailand. In addition, the TMAC is also instrumental in digging up landmines across the country and then destroying them.

The TMAC provides information on landmines for villagers and assists landmine victims.

Phone number: 565-5202, 565-5206.


August 30, 2000
Mine Action Centre needs more funds
Foreign governments urged to render help

Saritdet Marukatat in Sa Kaew

The Thailand Mine Action Centre is not being allocated sufficient budget to carry out its work, upsetting its deputy chief.

Addressing a press conference, Maj-Gen Ronnachai Srisuworanan said he was seeking help from all directions, including foreign governments and non-governmental organisations.

"Please, we need help," he said.

For this fiscal year which ends Sept 30, the government gave the centre 16 million baht. Next year it will receive 40 million baht, although it asked for 120 million baht.

The centre needed a large budget because the equipment and tools for its work were expensive, Maj-Gen Ronnachai said.

The cost of a trained sniffer dog, for example, was one million baht. Because of the budget shortfall, the centre's plan to expand humanitarian de-mining centres from the present three, in the provinces of Sa Kaew, Surin and Chanthaburi, had ground to a halt.

Maj-Gen Ronnachai made the remarks after showing US ambassador to Thailand, Richard Hecklinger, around what is Thailand's first humanitarian de-mining centre, at Ban Nong Yakaew in Ta Phraya district of Sa Kaew.

The centre, which is receiving assistance from the US government, has cleared a 500sqm area of landmines-from a total mined area of 2sqkm-since it began work in July.

In the process, de-miners discovered two landmines and about 2,000 pieces of shrapnel from war weapons, according to Col Niran Pipithkul, deputy commander of the unit at Ban Nong Yakaew.

The US government over the past two years has contributed more than US$12 million to Thailand for training of de-miners, including sniffer dogs, as well as de-mining equipment.

But the US has not signed the Ottawa Treaty of Dec 3,1997, which bans the use of landmines.

Mr Hecklinger, the US ambassador, said the US did not sign the document because the "security needs" of US troops in South Korea required the use of landmines to prevent aggression from North Korean troops.

The Ottawa Treaty refused to give the US any grace period on this, he added.

But the US granted more help than any other country to the humanitarian aspects of de-mining all over the world, and hoped to sign the treaty before 2006, the ambassador said.

In Thailand, some 800sqkm of ground has been laid with mines, officials noted. In Ta Phraya district alone, landmines claimed 200 casualties during 1995-99.

Nong Yakaew is one of the most mine-infested areas in the country.


September 2, 2000
Mines: peacetime's greatest menace

In December 1997, two significant steps were taken to rid the world of the scourge of anti-personnel landmines. An international treaty was signed in Ottawa, Canada by 123 countries to ban these devices of mutilation and death, and the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to the International Campaign to Ban Landmines and to its co-ordinator Jody Williams.

It was a triumph for humanity and common sense because there can be no justification for weapons of war which kill in peacetime and claim so many innocent civilians as their victims. But banning them through international law has not eliminated them. A piece of paper signed amid a blaze of publicity cannot do that. It takes continuing resolve and the willingness to commit large sums of money.

Both the determination and pledges of funding were present when the plans for de-mining were drawn up in 1998, but neither are as apparent today.

Other problems have surfaced leading to the diversion of funds to fresh priorities, with the result that the Thailand Mine Action Centre just doesn't have enough money to tackle the enormous task entrusted to it.

After limping by on a trifling start-up allocation of 16 million baht for the current fiscal year, it has seen its budget for next year cut from a requested 120 million baht to a mere 40 million baht-the cost of just 40 sniffer dogs.

This has made it heavily dependent on aid from the government of the United States. Even this contribution is proving to be insufficient and the Centre this week issued a global appeal for funds to sustain its work.

Its task is formidable. There are about 800 square kilometres of ground which have been laid with mines and in Ta Phraya district of Sa Kaew province alone, landmines have claimed at least 200 casualties in the past five years.

Thailand, like Laos, needs no lecture on the harm landmines can do in peacetime. Not only innocent villagers suffer. In one particularly heart-rending case a year ago, a cow elephant named Motala had her left foreleg shattered in a tragedy which attracted the spotlight of international attention.

We are not alone in our struggle against this menace. There are millions of mines scattered over 70 countries in Asia, Europe, Africa, the Middle East and the Americas.

The most severely affected countries are Cambodia, Laos, Afghanistan, Angola, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Eritrea, Iraq (Kurdistan), Mozambique, Somalia, Sudan and Vietnam.

Over the last 55 years, anti-personnel mines are believed to have caused more deaths and injuries than nuclear, biological and chemical weapons combined.

Part of the reason for this is that a large number of victims are alone and in isolated places far from medical attention when they are wounded. A doctor working for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) estimates that up to 50% of mine victims die within hours of the blast. All in all, the ICRC estimates that 800 people are killed by mines every month worldwide and another 1,200 are maimed-a total of 2,000 victims a month and close to 25,000 a year. Of these victims, Unicef estimates that 5,000 to 6,000 are children.

The appeal for global assistance will reach sympathetic ears but because the problem is of global proportions, there just isn't enough money to go around.

Governments stand ready to spend vast sums on weapons of mass destruction, but not on clearing up after them. It is time we re-thought our priorities and gave our mine clearance workers all the support they need, financial and otherwise, to rid our countryside of these horrific devices. Those falling victim to them must also receive all the humanitarian assistance our authorities can provide.


September 6, 2000
It saves lives to watch your step
Wars end and the combatants return home. But too often they leave behind a deadly legacy, and those who fall victim are children, farmers-everyday people just going about their lives.

Saritdet Marukatat

It was hard enough to learn to live with the bullets and mortar rounds fired by Cambodia's warring factions and Vietnamese troops in those worrying days 20 years ago. Now villagers along the border with Cambodia must learn the probably more difficult lesson of avoiding being maimed or killed by landmines.

Before, villagers at least could hear where the firing was coming from, but the landmines are almost invisible and they are scattered all about.

The unseen worries the villagers, and even more so the deminers and relief workers as the Thailand Mine Action Centre (Tmac) begins clearing the mines from areas along the border.

Ban Nong Yah Kaew in Sa Kaew's Khog Sung sub-district is a good example of why officials are worried. The border village of 210 households was picked by the centre as its first site for clearance in the province because it is among the worst hit by mines.

Sa Kaew is one of 19 border provinces strewn with mines. In Ta Phraya district alone, where Khok Sung is located, about 200 villagers were injured in the five years to 1999 after stepping on mines.

Col Niran Pipithkul, deputy commander of the Sa Kaew humanitarian demining action unit based at the village, has seen villagers carelessly move a sign warning about landmines from one place to another when a mine was spotted at the second site. One villager found a hand grenade and took it to the unit for defusing, he said.

Villagers who lived through the fighting 20 years ago have been around landmines and other military hardware for so long that they sometimes overlook safety measures, said Col Niran. "They are aware of the danger but their degree of awareness might not be as high as we think."

Their familiarity with landmines is no surprise given their experience. The village was a war zone in the late-1970s and '80s when there was fighting between the Khmer People's National Liberation Front led by the late Son Sann and the Heng Samrin-led Cambodian government forces. Nearby is Non Mak Mun where Thai and Vietnamese forces fought pitched battles in the early 1980s.

The war ended a decade later and the troops left, but the landmines remain and there is still no sign that they will be removed any time soon.

Thailand's aim of clearing the mines in 10 years is widely accepted as improbable. And so educating people about landmines has become a major component of Tmac's work. To get the message across, staff meet villagers and distribute posters and information at border villages.

What really worries the deminers are the children; they are not as aware as their parents of the dangers of landmines.

"We target everybody with the awareness campaign but children are our priority because they play around and don't realise the consequences of stepping on mines," said Maj-Gen Ronnachai Srisuworanan, Tmac's deputy director-general.

Nobody can alert them as well as their teachers at school. They can influence the children and their parents. "Teachers are the best group to relay our message because they are respected," said Col Niran, who fought at Non Mak Mun 20 years ago.

"A common problem for the older villagers is how to treat casualties properly, and where to take the injured for medical treatment," he said.

The village is unsafe and officials cannot say when this will be remedied. The latest incident was a few months ago when a man stepped on a mine while taking his water buffaloes to the paddy field. Deminers have sealed off the field to the east of the village indefinitely.

Villagers have seen 500sqm cleared so far, but that took two months. Given the current pace with the deminers only lightly equipped, it could take hundreds of months to declare the 2sqkm area around the village safe from mines. But Maj-Gen Ronnachai said the mission would move forward more quickly when heavy and more modern equipment is available.

Non-governmental agencies involved in landmine clearance also say that mine awareness is crucial to safeguarding villagers. They also accept that it is the children who are most at risk.

"Children will tend to be the victims of landmines in the future," saidDuangkamol Ponchamni, a campaigner with Handicap International, a specialist agency based in Lyons, France. "Teenagers are another group we are concerned about."

But instead of relying on teachers to provide information, the Handicap International, which operates at border villages in Chanthaburi's Pong Nam Ron district, prefers to deal with villagers and children direct to make sure they understand and know how to avoid mines and treat any victims themselves once the agency leaves the area.

There is another group campaigners want to reach in an effort to support efforts to clear the country of landmines-city people.

They are seen as a powerful ally in lobbying government for more aid and other forms of support to make the border areas safer, quicker.

The problem is that city people do not know enough about the sufferings of people living along the border due to mines, according to Nittaya Kritsananont of the Thailand Campaign to Ban Landmines, an umbrella group of non-governmental agencies involved with mine awareness.

"We need to raise their awareness," she said.


October 23, 2000
Thieves shot dead heading for the border

Two armed Cambodian thieves were shot dead in Sa Kaew province early yesterday after they stole a motorcycle from a village in Ta Phraya district.

Kham Petkij, 40, reported to his headman about 1.30am that armed men had broken into his house in the middle of the night and stolen his Honda Wave motorbike.

Border patrol and local police, backed by an armoured car, formed teams with volunteers to prevent the culprits fleeing across the border.

About 3am, one of the teams came across five men crossing a paddy field about 150m from a border police checkpoint and 500m from the border.

The fugitives opened fire when challenged to produce identification.

Police reinforcements quickly arrived and the two sides exchanged gunfire for about 10 minutes.

Police waited until dawn to check the area. When the sun rose they found two dead men in the rice field, their hands still gripping AK assault rifles.

The other three gunmen were believed to have crossed safely into Cambodia, but they left the stolen motorcycle in the field.

The village headman, Thawee Unwimol, confirmed the dead men were Cambodians.

He said they had been seen in his village recently.


December 20, 2000
Sa Kaew farmers to boycott all parties

Sa Kaew-Ten farmer groups in Sa Kaew have decided to boycott all political parties contesting the election in the province, after no candidates showed up at a seminar held to discuss their problems.

The groups, comprising villagers affected by state development schemes, had invited candidates of four parties contesting in Sa Kaew to join their seminar held yesterday at Tako-Lam Sathon border pass in Ta Phraya district.

None of the candidates turned up at the seminar organised jointly by the 10 groups and the Assembly of the Poor.

Only deputy Sa Kaew governor Suraphol Pongthatsirikul and provincial forestry chief Pairote Chiew-iamwattana showed up at the seminar, attended by some 400 villagers from Ta Phraya, Wattana Nakhon, Khok Sung and Aranyaprathet districts.